Man Threatens Girl With A Knife At Echo Park Walgreens

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man who threatened a young girl with a knife Friday outside a Walgreen's pharmacy in Echo Park was taken into custody.

The suspect was reported about 6:55 p.m. to be armed with a large knife threatening the 8-year-old girl in the doorway of the store in the 1600 block of Sunset Boulevard, near Echo Park Avenue, according to Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.

"I was like so scared," the victim, Nattanyah Garcia, told ABC7 with her mother by her side. "I thought it was the end of the world for me."

Nattanyah showed reporters the man had the kitchen knife, which was reported to have a 7 to 8-inch blade, just inches away from her chest. The girl said she stayed calm for fear of the suspect hurting her.

"I thought if I was acting crazy, he would act crazy and just do weird things," Nattanyah told ABC7.

The mother called for help and the man fled the scene. An officer caught and collared him, Madison said.

The girl was not harmed.

The man appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of methamphetamine, police said.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock